"Our beer program is one of the largest in the city when you combine our Moerlein beers and the dozens of guest beers we serve," Andrew Riemer, who manages the beer program at the Moerlein Lager House, said in a prepared statement. “With these two new clubs, we look forward to engaging local craft beer drinkers with monthly events and exclusive opportunities to try new brews."

Here's how they work:

Mug Club: The cost is $10, with the following benefits: Moerlein beer served in a special 23-ounce glass for $6.50; $2 discount on all growler refills until 9 p.m. daily; 20 percent discount on all retail items; and invitations to weekly Mug Club Happy Hours featuring exclusive tappings and Meet the Brewer events.

Beer Locker Program: The cost is $33, with the following benefits: A personal beer locker at the Moerlein Lager House; a commemorative Rookwood stein; new Moerlein beer placed in the locker each month; new featured guest beer placed in the locker each month; and all Mug Club benefits.

If you're into religion, of course, there's that whole Father, Son and Holy Ghost thing.

And now comes a power beer trio.

The three breweries that earned medals in the scotch ale category at the Great American Beer Festival last year -- Fifty West in Cincinnati, Revelry in Charleston, S.C., and Real Ale in Blanco, Texas -- have joined forces to create a collaborative beer called Wee Heavy Bevvy Scotch Ale. The breweries say it's "a never done before collaboration."

Wee Heavy Bevvy -- which was made at each location using the same recipe -- will be tapped at all three breweries on March 24. It will be available on draft only.

“The idea came up to get together with the other award winners and make a super-duper version of what was already world class examples of the style,” Fifty West head brewer and co-owner Blake Horsburgh said in a prepared statement.

Real Ale Real Heavy, Revelry Oh My Darlyn! and Fifty West Going Plaid placed first, second and third, respectively, last year at the national competition.

"Remarkably, the entire collaboration between the three breweries occurred remotely via email and phone conversations to create the recipe, decide the name, and release the brew without ever meeting one another, which shows the innovation occurring within the brewing community," Fifty West spokeswoman Frannie Rosenkrantz said in an email.

"It is [a] typical scotch ale," she added. "Scottish ales are usually boiled longer to caramelize the wort, which produces a darker, deeper color. They have a malty, sweet flavor with little hop bitterness. The Wee Heavy Bevvy was brewed with some peat-smoked malt for a slightly smoky depth of character. There was also some dark crystallized malt for a dark fruity taste as well."

The Tremont Taphouse in Cleveland will host an Alaskan Ales for Tails fundraiser from 6 to 8 p.m. March 30.

One dollar from every pint of Alaskan sold will benefit KaleidoscopeK9s, a dog rescue group in Seville.The event also will feature a raffle and a chance to adopt a husky.

The fundraising event is part of the Alaskan Brewing Co.'s Ales for Tails program, which supports animal organizations around the U.S.

“Dogs are a valuable part of our lives in Alaska, whether working hard pulling sleds or rescuing missing persons or simply as companions for a hike or at home,” Alaskan co-founder Marcy Larson said in a prepared statement. “Making contributions to animal organizations allows others to enjoy the benefits of a canine companion, in all aspects of life."

“We’ve always wanted to, as a group, run the marathon and the relay to lose a few pounds and stay healthy,” said Shea, who used to compete in triathlons before opening his brewery. “Brewers aren’t known to be healthy. And that idea morphed into: There are a lot more local brewers.”

He sees it as a way to build on the growing camaraderie among Akron-area brewers. There are seven breweries within the Akron city limits now and plenty more in the surrounding area.

Lest anyone think Shea will run away with the trophy because of his triathlon background, he said he hasn’t stayed in shape and will be starting at square one with training. Any brewers who are interested in taking part should contact him.

-- Fermenting Ohio conducts a Q&A with Chris Kambouris, head brewer at the upcoming Bascule Brewery and Public House in Lorain. "I always get asked what my IPA will be and if I’ll be serving Coors or Budweiser," he says. "I’ll only be serving our own beers and we’ll definitely have a variety, but won’t bow to any trends." To read the full story, click here.

-- The Brewers Association conducts a Q&A with Ellen Lehman, quality lab manager at MadTree Brewing Co. in Cincinnati. She says that Bell's Two Hearted is her favorite non-MadTree beer. To read the full Q&A, click here.

-- WCPO reports that Listermann Brewing Co. will tap Riveting Rosie, a hibiscus rose-hipped saison, on Wednesday for International Women's Day. To read the full story, click here.

-- The Gnarly Gnome reports that Municipal Brew Works in Hamilton has signed with distributor Ohio Eagle Distributing and is working on releasing its first bottled beer for its one-year anniversary. To read the full report, click here.

-- Columbus Business First reports that BrewDog paid $475,000 for its property in Franklinton where it's opening a new bar. To read the full report, click here.

-- Cincinnati.com profiles the upcoming West Side Brewing. "What I like is variety," co-founder Brian Willett says. "When there are tons of options to choose from, there's something for everyone." To read the full story, click here.

-- The Cincinnati Business Courier reports that Rhinegeist Brewery is expanding distribution to Pittsburgh. "It's a great food town that recognizes high quality beer," co-founder Bryant Goulding says. "Our response to sending beer to a couple beer festivals in Pittsburgh has been fantastic. We did a lot of research and were really won over by the city." To read the full story, click here.

Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. will introduce Thirteen/164 -- a new bourbon-barrel-aged imperial stout with cherries -- to help celebrate its 13th anniversary.

The beer will be released at noon Saturday (March 11) at its Malt House Taproom. Each year, the Cincinnati brewery creates a new beer to commemorate its anniversary -- along with the anniversary of the original Christian Moerlein. Thus, the Thirteen/164 name.

Thirteen/164, which clocks in at 13.2 percent alcohol by volume, was aged on dark cherries and then aged for six months in charred oak bourbon barrels.

“Think about it like your favorite holiday candy, cherry and chocolate,” head brewer Tom Hull said in a prepared statement.

The beer will be available on draft and in 22-ounce bottles. It will be released to retailers March 14.

Christian Moerlein also will host its annual anniversary party from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday. In addition to the new beer being available, the event will feature live music by Ricky Leighton, two different brewery tours and a buffet created by chef Marshall Mann.

One of the tours will highlight the new production brewery, while the other will explore the underground lagering cellars.

General admission tickets to the party are $35 and include a drink ticket, wristband for the buffet and both brewery tours. A "Head Brewer" ticket is $50 and includes a bottle of Thirteen/164 and a snifter glass, along with the other items included with the general admission ticket.

Thirsty Dog also took home the state’s top honor last year and the year before. And in 2014, it was named USA Brewery of the Year.

More than 400 beers and ciders were submitted from more than 19 countries in the competition, which was judged by retail store and restaurant owners, beverage directors, distributors and importers. Only 38 percent of the entrants won a medal.

Meanwhile, Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. was named Cincinnati Brewery of the Year. Christian Moerlein received a silver medal for Big Piney IPA and bronze for Pacer Citra Pale Ale. Samuel Adams, which has a brewery in Cincinnati, also took home a slew of awards.

New this year will be special collaboration beers made for the event. Club members are working with Lucky Owl, Ohio, R. Shea, Butcher and the Brewer, Masthead, MadTree and Millersburg to produce one-off brews for the tasting.

In addition to the beer, there will be food trucks and live music.

Organizers also said they are doubling the space and there will be an outside tent to avoid the sardine feeling of last year.

The Rubber City Beer Fest serves as a fundraiser for the club and is held in conjunction with the group’s Wizard of SAAZ homebrewing competition.

Vice President Mark Milliren added that one of the other goals is to help foster a craft beer culture in Akron.

Tickets are $33 and will be limited to 400 people. For more details or to buy tickets, click here.

Ohio Brewing Co. will celebrate the one-year anniversary of its brewpub in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood next week.

“We’re very pleased with the community’s reception to us,” co-owner Chris Verich said.

Ohio, has had several locations over the years, including two other spots in Akron.

“This one seems to fit us the best,” Verich said. “We’re so in tune with the neighborhood.”

The actual anniversary is St. Patrick’s Day, but the brewery will celebrate all week with Irish food specials such as beef stew and corned beef and cabbage. Ohio also will have its seasonal Double Irish Red available and local guitarist James Marron will perform at 8 p.m. March 16.

Yellow Springs Brewery will release its latest canned beer -- Springer Golden Ale -- at 5 p.m. Friday (March 10) during a party at its tasting room in Yellow Springs.

The beer, which is 5.4 percent alcohol by volume, features local Cascade hops grown by Heartland Hops in Northwest Ohio. Springer is one of the brewery's original beers.

The brewery is promising several variations of Springer on draft during the party.

"It’s our hope to offer folks a chance to come out of their winter hibernation as we usher in the changing of the seasons," brewery event coordinator Chris Hutson said in a prepared satement. "Along with our special variants there are also plans for live accoustic music, food, flowers and a few tricks up our sleeves.”

Springer, which will be the brewery's fourth beer available in cans, will be distributed to restaurants, bars and retailers starting the week of March 13. Six-packs will sell for $9.99.

Here's the rundown of the brewing permits pending before the Ohio Division of Liquor Control. These could be for new breweries or existing breweries that are expanding with new locations. I've also added hyperlinks when I could find working websites or Facebook pages.

This list isn't a comprehensive list of every brewery planning to open in the state. It's just the ones that have filed paperwork with the state.

To help with anybody who regularly checks, I've added the word "New>>" to the operations that are new this week.

Here you go, sorted by region, and accurate as of the morning of March 3:

The Winter Warmer Beer Fest once again proved that it’s one of the premier beer festivals in Ohio.

The event, held Saturday at Windows on the River in downtown Cleveland and put on by the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, was overflowing with Ohio breweries from all corners of the state showcasing winter, limited-edition and high-alcohol wares.

I decided against putting together a list of my favorite beers. Quite frankly, who cares one bologna sandwich what I think. (By the way, I reserve the right to be a hypocrite on that topic when my new book The 50 Must-Try Craft Beers of Ohio is released this summer. That’s when I hope people care.)

So -- after serving as a volunteer pourer for Jackie O's Brewery for several hours -- I wandered around and interviewed random beer drinkers along with multiple brewers to learn their favorites.

My charge was simple. Name one beer that stood out among all the others. Not everyone followed those instructions. Some named more than one. Some -- none of them mentioned here -- were too tipsy to remember specific beers. Some -- none of them mentioned here -- named beers that didn’t exist – or at least not at the brewery they cited.

Brendan Downs of Brunswick: Fat Head’s Juicy Hop JuJu. “For me it was something different,” he said. Then he cited Vlad the Impaler, an imperial stout from Royal Docks Brewing Co. in suburban Canton. “That was awesome,” he said. “And I absolutely hate stouts.”

---

Joel Warger, brewer at Goldhorn Brewery in Cleveland: Kindred Hawaiian Shirt, a wit made with hibiscus and mango. “It was subtle,” he said. “It was crisp. Clean. Light. I could drink that all summer long.”

Luke Purcell, co-founder of the upcoming Collision Bend Brewing Co. in Cleveland: Kindred Hawaiian Shirt. At first, he said it was “not fair” to single out one beer. Then he settled on Hawaiian Shirt, calling it refreshing and “palate cleansing.”

Rick Durham is the head brewer at the RAM Brewery & Restaurant in Columbus. The brewery, which is part of the Lakewood, Wash.-based RAM chain, opened last fall. The company is also opening a second Columbus location.

Question: Why did you become a brewer?

Answer: I’ve always been a creative person. In high school, I made movies. In college, I majored in creative writing. There is a lot of needless destruction and negativity in the world, and the only way I know to truly combat it is to create, be it a fun short story or a hearty stout. I noticed my beer tends to make people a little more happy than my poetry ever did. It started out as a hobby with my friends that kept my fridge full, and eventually turned into a job in a growing market filled with the nicest people I’ve ever met.

Q: What has been the highlight of your brewing career so far and why was it so special? (Maybe it's been a beer that you brewed, an award that you won, an idol you've met ...)

A: Back when I was the head brewer at Wild Ohio Brewing Co. Cleveland.com called my Black Cherry Bourbon recipe the "most interesting sip" of the 2016 Cleveland Winter Beer Fest. It was the second recipe I ever released commercially and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Of course, "interesting" tends to be synonymous with "weird," it was still a humbling mention for my 9 percent barrel-aged bastardization of Kombucha.

Q: What advice can you give future brewers to be successful?

A: Get real weird with it. You hear people saying that it’s all been done, which is crap. I doubt we’ve really scratched the surface on what this craft beer “bubble” can become.

Ten years ago, barely anyone knew what an IPA was. Look at the style now. Same with sours in the past five years. Don’t be afraid to add your own twist. I was once told that if the beer tasted good, keep doing what you’re doing.

Also take as much criticism as you can get. If your ego gets bruised because someone doesn’t like your hefe, you might be in the wrong business. See what you can improve upon. Find your strengths, too. If my IPA tasted like creamed corn, I’d be pissed if I wasn’t told about it -- like if your fly is down. I expect to be told these things.

Beer comes before feelings every time. Also believe in yourself. If you don’t believe, Narnia is just a wardrobe.

Q: What's your best-selling beer and why do you think it's so popular?

A: Our Short North Blonde Ale. The company recipe won gold at GABF last year and we get to put our own Columbus spin on it. It’s our lightest beer and being in the heart of the Short North, we get a lot of bar-hoppers who are looking for something refreshing and light. Our Big Reds IPA is a close second. It seems I’m always making those two.

Q: Which beer – any beer in the world – do you wish that you created/invented/brewed and why?

A: Columbus Brewing Co. Bodhi. Hands down. I’m a shameless fanboy of CBC. The first time I met Eric Bean I could hardly form sentences. Bodhi is the king of Columbus and, I feel, embodies everything that is the Columbus craft beer scene.

Unapologetically hoppy, 8 percent bliss, with the bitterness of Columbus winters, and the citrus floral hot mess of Columbus summers, all in one beer.

Editor's note: The Five questions with ... feature appears each Friday. If you would like ot participate or would like to nominate someone to participate, send me an email at rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.

-- Not to be forgotten. Ohio welcomes its newest nanobrewery today (March 3) when McArthur's Brew House opens in Cuyahoga Falls. The brewery will only be open Fridays and Saturdays to start. For more details, check out my earlier story here.

The Scottish brewer announced plans Thursday (March 2) to build a combined DogHouse hotel -- complete with beer fridges in the shower and beer spas -- and sour beer facility next to its Canal Winchester, Ohio, brewery and DogTap restaurant.

BrewDog released concept art and a video about the project and -- as it is bent to do -- is asking its fans to pay for the venture at an Indiegogo site. The project had raised nearly $15,000 by Thursday afternoon.

"There are a few hotels where you can stay near to a brewery - but there are none where you can wake up inside a brewery," BrewDog said in its announcement. "The DogHouse Columbus will greet you each morning with the aromas from our gently fermenting foeders even before you head down for breakfast. It will be a focal point for fans of craft beer and a must-stay for anybody making the pilgrimage to check out our adventures in Ohio."